Here are some brief comments on Richard Ebeling and Geoffrey Lea’s second essays on Austrian economics in South Royalton, Vermont. All essays can be found here.
First of all, Richard Ebeling.
Richard tells a hilarious story about traveling by bus from Sacramento to South Royalton, VT. Wow! I remember Harry Watson and I had paid for our airfare, if I remember correctly. I don’t know why this disparate treatment. The good news is that it didn’t seem to negatively affect Richard’s attitude, unless he was normally even friendlier and more excitable than he seemed.
One of my favorite parts of his second essay is his remembrance of the late Sudha Shenoy. I remember her well. At 23, I had never had any interaction with an Indian woman. I enjoyed her immensely, especially her infectious laugh. I had actually heard of her famous father, economist BR Shenoy, and I think I had read one or two things he wrote. Again, if I remember correctly, he was the first economist I read who was critical of the Indian government’s central planning. It’s hard to believe she died in 2008. It seems much more recent.
Here’s a very sweet one memory of Sudha by the late John Blundell.
Secondly, Geoffrey Lea.
I think Geoffrey is right to charitably interpret Milton Friedman’s famous statement to the South Royalton group that there is no such thing as Austrian economics; there are only good economies and bad economies. I didn’t think he meant that the Austrians had no important insights. I assumed he meant that the people gathered there should not let each other get away with incorrect statements or statements just because they sounded Austrian. And besides, I didn’t see people there letting each other get away with such claims.
The photo above is of Sudha. The other photo is of my late friend Harry Watson and his wife Ida Walters in front of the South Royalton hotel, the ‘scene of the crime’. I was visiting Harry and Ida in New Hampshire in September 2015 and we drove to the hotel to see what it was like. Harry and Ida had met at the conference and married not long after.